Under The Surface

Opening Scripture

Matthew 6:1–34 NIV

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

In the Temple Treasury, there were thirteen collection boxes shaped like trumpets (narrow at the top, wide at the bottom, made of brass), called the Shofarot. When a wealthy person dropped large, heavy bronze or silver coins down the brass funnel, it made a loud, echoing clanging sound that reverberated across the court. Everyone stopped to look at who was giving big money. Furthermore, during times of public distribution of charity in the crowded streets, some elites literally had actual trumpets blown under the guise of "gathering the poor," but in reality, it was to assemble an audience to watch their benevolence.

Pagans believed that if they chanted long enough, repeated formulas flawlessly, or rattled off every known name of a deity, they could manipulate the gods into answering.

God is not a distant, easily confused pagan deity who needs to be impressed; He is Abba—a loving Father who already knows what we need before we even ask.

Jesus demands absolute secrecy. Wash your face, brush your hair, and put on oil. True fasting is a private discipline designed to starve the flesh so you can feast on God, not a tool to harvest social clout.

Just much like in Jesus day, Modern Christian’s fall into these same traps that Jesus talked about in his very first sermon…

We Want to be Seen

We want to be Acknowledged

We want to be rewarded by our fellow man instead of God.

As we dig beneath the surface let’s uncover the Seeds we MUST plant

What’s Your Reason?

Philippians 2:3–4 NIV

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

How many times have we found ourselves doing something for someone just to say that we did our good deed for the day, or even remind them later in an argument that we helped them out, or just to have something to be prideful over??

Scripture Tells us that Humility is a MUST have character trait for a follower of Jesus and a child of God.

When we do anything for anyone rather if we know them or not we should do it without the desire to brag about it

We are called to value others above ourselves… meaning, we value them so much that we don’t feel the needs to count the cost of what we have done for them… or putting their business out in the open

We shouldn’t help others with an hidden motive of an IOU

When we are in the process of assisting someone we should be mindful of what may be buried beneath the surface of our hearts… Pride will end up positioning you in a place where you rob God of His glory for yourself.

How Do You Pray?

Mark 1:35 NIV

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Jesus had the habit of getting up very early in the morning to be alone to pray to the Father…

Developing a prayer habit is something that we ALL MUST strive to do..

Prayer should never be only used in times of emergencies it should be consistent and ongoing.

We should not be treating prayer as an act of religion but instead as an act of relationship

Some people only pray when they come to church… or when they are around other people… if that is the only time we pray, our Father in heaven is not pleased.

Prayer was never meant for show, it was meant to be closely connected to the Father through Jesus.

It’s Times To Fast!

Matthew 9:14–15 NIV

Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Fasting was a common practice in Jesus day and even within the early Church.

Fasting takes our focus off of the flesh by sustaining from things that satisfy the flesh

John’s disciples came to Jesus asking why He and the twelve didn’t participate in regular fasting — Jesus response was simple.. Because He (the groom) was still physically present.

Jesus (The groom) has ascended…. NOW is the time to Fast!

When you don’t know and it seems that your confused or not sure what direction to take —- FAST!

When you are hurting and you are having a hard time feeling peace —- FAST!

When you feel that you need answers but seem to be getting none —- Fast!!

BUT when you FAST don’t go around bragging to others that you are fasting —- that is something that is between you and God — NO ONE ELSE!

Your Next Steps

1. Burn the Mental Ledger

This week, perform a covert act of kindness—pay for someone's coffee, help a neighbor, or complete an undesirable task at work—and intentionally choose never to bring it up again. If you are tempted to use it as leverage later during an argument, or brag about your "good deed for the day," consider that your warning light. Erase the mental scoreboard. Give freely, value others above yourself, and leave the reward entirely in the hands of the Father.

2. Connect Before You Collect

Follow the example of Jesus in Mark 1:35 by establishing a "First 5 in the Dark" rule. Tomorrow morning, before you collect notifications, check social media, or review your email, spend your first five minutes in a solitary place talking to God. Do not treat this time like a transactional emergency broadcast. Instead, treat it like an unfiltered conversation with a loving Father. Talk to Him before the world has a chance to demand your attention.

3. Schedule a "Secret Starve"

Pick a 24-hour window this week to go on a specific fast. It could be a fast from a meal, streaming entertainment, or social media. Use the time you would normally spend consuming those things to actively seek God for the direction or peace you need. Most importantly, keep the circle closed. Wash your face, keep your routine normal, and don't drop hints to anyone else that you are fasting. Let your physical hunger transform into a private spiritual hunger for God alone.

4. Pass the Applause Audit

Before you share a spiritual thought online, talk loudly about how busy you are serving, or put your religious habits on display, hit the pause button and run an "Applause Audit." Ask yourself a raw question: "Would I still want to do this if I knew absolutely nobody on earth would ever find out or give me credit for it?" If the answer is no, step back, drop the mask, and reset your heart before moving forward.

5. Do a "Bird's-Eye" Check

Anxiety skyrockets when we assume the role of the provider and try to micromanage tomorrow. Whenever financial worry or daily stress starts to consume your headspace this week, physically step outside for a two-minute disruption. Look up at the sky, look at the birds, or look at the grass. Remind yourself out loud: "If God sustains them without them stressing, He will absolutely take care of me." Evict the panic, focus strictly on handling today's assignments, and trust the Father with the rest.